When President Kennedy entreated Americans in 1961 to “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”, it was inspirational.

When Tony Abbott expressed a similar sentiment in the lead-up to what promises to be a harsh 2014 federal budget, a nation bristled.

Why so cynical? Why are Australians having trouble coming to grips with the sense of shared responsibility to which every decent nation should aspire?

Putting aside for a moment the doubtful proposition of whether we really are in a budget emergency – not to mention the broken ‘no new taxes’ promise and the anomaly of the generous paid parental leave scheme (even if amended) – the answer rests with the broader political class itself.

Arthur Sinodinos outside ICAC. Photo: AAP

This includes not only selected politicians, but shady characters from the worlds of big business, big unions and, worst of all, that modern scourge of democracy: lobbyists.

The voters have been given the impression that this unholy cabal is not only running the show, but growing fat in the process, and that we are not invited. It is hard to conceive of a time when the disconnect between the public and their elected officials has been greater.

The public saw a man exploiting his connections to help fund for a lifestyle beyond the imagination of the average Australian.

When Arthur Sinodinos stood down as Assistant Treasurer as a result of the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption hearing into Australian Water Holdings, Abbott described him as a man of integrity with a long and faithful record of service to the country.

The public, on the other hand, saw an already wealthy man making $200,000 for between 25 and 45 hours work (although the senator quibbled over travel time), with the possibility of a $20 million payday down the track if a lucrative contract was won.

They did not see a man of service, they saw a man exploiting his connections – and, no doubt, his business acumen – to help fund for a lifestyle beyond the imagination of the average Australian.

Further, they saw a man who, as political commentator Michelle Grattan has pointed out, had a razer sharp mind when helping run John Howard’s office, but whose memory failed him badly under cross examination. This included knowledge of donations from the company, of which he was a director, to the NSW branch of the Liberal Party, of which he was treasurer.

Service to the country indeed.

When Barry O’Farrell quit as NSW premier, Abbott trumpeted: “We are seeing an act of integrity, an act of honour, the like of which we have rarely seen in Australian politics.”

Barry O’Farrell outside ICAC. Photo: AAP

The public, on the other hand, saw a man who falsely denied under oath ever receiving a $3000 gift from a lobbyist of dubious integrity.

Spare us the frothing about ICAC being a star chamber. We should all be grateful that it is shining a light on the shady backroom shenanigans poisoning Australian politics.

It was not ICAC’s fault that O’Farrell quit once the whole episode was laid bare to the voters, few of whom will ever lay eyes on a bottle of Grange, let alone taste the stuff.

It was not ICAC’s fault that O’Farrell accepted the gift; it was not ICAC’s fault that O’Farrell failed to declare the gift; it was not ICAC’s fault that O’Farrell denied under oath ever receiving the gift; and it was not ICAC’s fault that he quit once the whole episode was laid bare to the voters, few of whom will ever lay eyes on a bottle of Grange, let alone taste the stuff.

As journalist Mark Kenny observed, imagine if the $3000 had been cash in an envelope. 

Integrity and honour indeed.

Sinodinos and O’Farrell, it should be pointed out, have not been accused of corruption. It should also be pointed out that they are senior figures in the party that is asking Australians to think of the country first and themselves second, a credo they have not observed.

There has, of course, been genuine corruption. While the Liberals are copping it in the neck at the moment, the Labor Party wrote the book. It should never be forgotten that Michael Williamson, sentenced to jail for defrauding the union that represents low paid hospital workers, was a former national president of the Australian Labor Party. Names such as Craig Thomson and Eddie Obeid will live on in Labor infamy.

Eddie Obeid outside ICAC. Photo: AAP

Every day at ICAC we hear more about slush funds, secret bank accounts, sham businesses, false invoices, illegal donations, snake oil spivs, influence pedalling and lobbyists lining their pockets.

Very few of those named will ever be charged or brought to account. But the public can smell the stinking pile of manure from the furthest corners of the continent.

Names such as Craig Thomson and Eddie Obeid will live on in Labor infamy.

It seems almost quaint to hanker for the days when John Cain paid for his own postage stamps, Bob Brown tried to change the world while owning only one suit and John Howard holidayed every summer at the Hawks Nest motel.

Then again, why not? It would be better than the venal and self-interested public officials who have hijacked the Australian polity.

It is no wonder, then, that when pensioners, single parents, the disabled, or even Joe Average taxpayers are asked to tighten their belts and think what they can do for the country, they spit back: “What about me?”